Quick Snap | by Jay

Just a little preview card for you on the upcoming season; consider this an early look in preparation for our usual positional previews.

From left to right, we've got the opponent; what they did in '06; their national offensive and defensive rankings in '06; a total of returning starters; the returning stat leaders for a few categories (passing, rushing, receiving, tackles, sacks, and interceptions -- if the box is blank, it means the leader is not returning this year); and finally a note on whether the team has a new coach or new coordinators.

The list is sorted by the combined offense & defense ranking from '06.

Opponent		2006	Rank	Rank		Returning Starters				Returning Leaders							New Coaches
		Rec	Off	Def		Tot.	Off	Def		Pas	Rsh	Rec	Tck	Sck	Int
USC		11-2	21	20		17	7	10		QB	RB		LB		S		OC
UM		11-2	38	10		10	6	4		QB	RB	WR
PSU		9-4	53	15		14	8	6		QB		WR			S
BC		10-3	50	34		16	7	9		QB	RB	WR	LB		CB		HC, OC
Navy		9-4	28	61		9	7	2			RB
GT		9-5	67	27		15	7	8			RB			LB	S		OC
UCLA		7-6	71	35		20	10	10		QB	RB	WR	SS	DE	CB		OC
PU		8-6	13	114		18	9	9		QB	RB	WR	LB		S
MSU		4-8	48	88		12	6	6			RB		FS				HC, OC, DC
AFA		4-8	69	78		10	4	6		QB	RB	WR	LB	LB	S		HC, OC, DC
Duke		0-12	105	105		16	11	5		QB	RB	WR	LB	DE			OC
Stanford		1-11	118	97		15	7	8			RB	WR					HC, OC, DC
and just FYI...
Notre Dame		10-3	23	65		8	3	5					LB				DC

Odds and ends:

1. UCLA returns the most starters (20). I think they've got the best opportunity to improve on their '06 record (7-6).
2. Navy returns the fewest (9), and I'll be shocked if they win 9 games again.
3. Air Force returns only 10 starters, but all of its statistical leaders.
4. Southern Cal had the 20th ranked defense and returns 10 of 11 starters. Yikes.
5. On the other hand, Michigan had the 10th ranked defense and returns only 4.
6. Notre Dame has fewer returning starters than any team on the schedule, and we return only one statistical leader from last year (Mo Crum, tackles).